Wheel-guard.



J. M. YUUNT.

WHEEL GURD APPLIGATION FILED JULY 26, 1909.

Patented May 24, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET lv @Ui/Waan@ J. M. YOUNT.

WHEEL GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, 1909.

958,791 Patented May 24, v1910.

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JESSE M. YoUNfr, or NEW YORK, 1v. Y.

WHEEL-GUARD.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JESSE M. YoUNT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, in the county of New York, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wheel-Guards, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices designed to be attached to street railway( and other cars and to serve the purpose of preventing injury to human beings and animals by guarding the wheels of the car.

The objects of the improvements are, among others, to provide a simple, strong and durable structure of this character which may be easily attached to the car and adjusted to its proper position and which will act with certainty and etliciency at all times and regardless of the position of the car and its wheels.

The invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the Said drawings, Figure l is a plan of a wheel guard and its accessories embodying the improvements, one side of the apparatus being cut away longitudinally. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. l looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section on the line 3 3 of Fig. l.

The device may be said to consist of three principal parts: a tripping device provided with means for resetting; a connecting or transmitting mechanism and a wheel guard proper.

The tripping mechanism consists of a gate A pivotally hung from the bar B mounted between hangers C, secured to the underside of the car platform X, and its connections. A loose collar A', through which the bar B passes, is located at both sides and is connected with the gate through the arm A2. A fixed collar D with an arm D is. provided for the resettin pedal, and a like collar E with arm E provided for the transmitting mechanism. lThe gate A clears the track Y preferably by several inches and extends across from one track to the other at right angles thereto a short distance beyond said tracks at either side so that any object of considerable size on the tracks will come in contact with the said gate.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application tiled .Tuly 26, 1909.

Patented May 2d, 1910.

Serial No. 509,534.

The resetting pedal F has an L-shaped arm F extending down through the car platform and pivotally connected at its lower horizontally turned end with the arm D', so that when the gate swings backard, thereby oscillating the arm D', the pedal will be raised above the floor of thecar platform, while, on the other hand, when the pedal is depressed, the arm D' and gate will be oscillated and moved forward to their normal positions. The upper position of the pedal F and connected parts is shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

When the gate A encounters an obstacle and is swung backward and upward it also oscillates the arm E' on the collar E and causes the rod G, pivotally connected thereto, to be drawn forward. The opposite end of this rod is pivotally connected with the flat bar H by means of a connecting head G' on the end of the rod G and a vertically turned portion H' at the ond of the bar l-l, so that the reciprocating motion of the rod Gr is communicated to the bar lvl and causes the said bar to slide in the hanger guides I secured to the underside of the car platform and causes the downwardly turned rear end H2 to press against or recede from the curved plate J. By this means the guard proper, with which the curved plate J is rigidly connected through the upright arm K, is caused to move simultaneously with the gate A at the front of the platform.

The wheel guard proper L is located directly in front of the wheels (dotted lines Figs. l and 2) nearest the end of the car and consists of vertical and horizontal parts secured together' by arms L', L2, respectively, connected with a common collar M mounted on the bar N carried by the truck 0, a hang-er N' connecting the said bar with the trucks. The collar M is loose on the bar N, so that the guard L will freely oscillate thereon. The construction of the guard L is completed by uprights L3 and cross pieces L4t of the upright portion and cross pieces L5 bolted or otherwise secured to the arms L2 and LG of the horizontal portion. At each side of the center of the guard are horizontal pieces LG integral with the upright K carrying the curved plate J and in this manner the guard is connected with the other parts of the mechanism.

Secured to the strip L7 on the bottom of the guard by means of a hook R is a tension spring S, the opposite end of which is connected with the hook T on the truck O', and

draw the guard downward is maintained, so that when the rod G is drawn forward by the backward movement ofthe gate and the downwardly turned end H2 withdrawn from the curved plate J, the spring S will instantly pull the guard down until its outer end 1strikes the rails Y. lt, will be understood that the parts will remain in this posit-ion until restored by the depression of the pedal F, as heretofore described, which thrusts the rod Gr backward against the plate J and restores the guard L to its normal position, the parts being held in this position bythe rod G and arm E', which are substantially on dead center.

Near the outer end of the bars L2 are depressions iLS, the object of which is to' act as a guide for the wheel guard L by entering the slot of the rail, or where slotted rails are not used, by falling inside the rails, and thus preventing lateral movement.

The curved plate J is of peculiar construction and arrangement and performs very important functions. rlhe rail guard proper and connected parts, including the curved plate J, are all mounted on the wheel truck, and consequently move with the wheelsv and not with the body of the car. The other parts of themechanism, however,- are mounted on the floor of the car body and must, therefore, move with the car. Consequently at switches and curves a considerable amount of movement of the parts mounted on the body of the car and the parts mounted on the wheel trucks relative to each other is absolutely necessary. At the same time it is imperative that the adjustment of the parts shall not be disturbed and that they shall remain in constant operative position at such times. I have, therefore, devised the curved plate J which is bent to form an are of a radius drawn from the pivotal point of the wheel trucks, so that the distance from the point of the said plate opposite the turned end IH2 to the arm E by which the motion of the guard A is communicated to the wheel guard L is the same, no matter what the angle of the wheel trucks with respect to the body of the car may be. l I have also so constructed and arranged this plate and the acent parts so that there is no positive connection between them, and this secures two very important advantages: The car may be dismantled or assembled without making or unmaking any connection, and the parts can not become bent or broken through the neglect of workmen to attend to these matters, while, as soon as the car is placed upon the truck, the device is 4in operative position, it being necessary only to place a block under the guard L or to tie the upright K to the wheel truck. Another important advantage of this coni struction is that the connection between the by this means a constant tension tending to forward and rear parts of the mechanism cannot be damaged when the car splits a switch, as not infrequently occurs. In the event of such an accident the turned end H? will simply slip oft the end of the curved plate J, whereas, in all devices where these parts are connected, instead of being merely in frictional Contact, this accident will break or bend the parts and put the entire mech anism out of operation. rl`his also frequently occurs when the car leaves the track or whenever, from any cause, the wheel trucks are turned at a great angle to the car body. V

that I claim as new is l. The combination of a curved plate mounted on the wheel truck and movable therewith, said plate being adapted to have independent movement, a member adapted to be pressed against the said plate mounted on the car body and a guard connected with the said curved plate adapted to be moved in one direction through the said curved plate.H e Y 2. The combinationI of a curved plate mountedl on the wheel truck and movable therewith, said plate being adapted to have independent movement, a member adapted to be pressed against the said plate mounted on thecar bodyA and a guard connected with the said curved plate adapted to be moved in one direction through the said curved plate, and a spring secured to the said guard for moving it in another direction.

3. The combinationV of a curved plate mounted on the wheel truck and movable therewith, said plat-e being adapted to have independent movement, a member adapted to be pressed against the said plate mounted on the cai1- body and a guard vconnected with the said curved plate adapted to be moved in lone direction through the saidv curved plate,v and a sprii'ig secured to the' said guard for moving it in another direction and m'eai'is secured to the body of the c ar forward of the said guard for operating the member and adapted to press against the plate.

ll. Vl`he combination of wheels mounted in a truck adapted to have rotary movement, a plate mounted on the' said wheel truck curved on an are struck from the truck pivot, a wheel guard mounted on the truck and connected with said plate, a member movably mounted on the car 'and means at the end of the car and outside of the wheel guard for moving the said member toward and from said plate and a 'spring connected with the truck and withthewheel guard for drawing the said guard downward.

5. The combination with a car and a suitable truck, of a 'curved plate mounted horizontally on a wheel truck and movable therewith, the convex side of said plate facing the nearest end of the car, a member disconnected from said plate and adapted to be pressed against the same mounted on the car body, and a guard connected with the said plate adapted to be moved in one direction through the said plate, and a spring secured to the said guard for moving it in another direction, and means secured to the body of the car forward of the said guard for operating the member adapted to press against the plate.

6. The combination of wheels mounted in a truck adapted to have rotary movement, a plate mounted on the said wheel truck curved on an arc struck from the truck pivot, a wheel guard mounted on the truck and connected with said plate, a member movably mounted on the car and means at the end of the car and forward of the wheel guard for moving the said member toward and from said plate and a spring connected with the truck and with the wheel guard for drawing the wheel guard downward.

7. The combination of wheels mounted in a truck adapted to have rotary movement, a plate mounted on the said wheel truck curved on an arc struck from the truck pivot, a wheel guard mounted on the truck and connected with said plate, a member movably mounted on the car disconnected from the said curved plate and having its rearmost extremity in advance thereof, and means at the end of the car and forward of the wheel guard for moving the said member toward and from the said plate.

8. In combination with wheels and a wheel truck on which a car is pivotally mounted, a plate mounted on the forward portion of the truck, the said plate being curved on an arc corresponding substantially with the arc described by the portion of the truck to which it is attached, a tripping device forward of said plate comprising a gate or tripping frame hung from the car so as to swing backward upon encountering an obstacle in its path, an arm rigidly connected with the said gate so as to oscillate therewith, a rod loosely connected with said arm and adapted to be reciprocated by the oscillation thereof and thereby to cause backward pressure on the said curved plate or permit the same to move forward, a fender connected to said plate and means constantly tending to move the lower part of said fender downward and the plate forward, the said arm and rod being substantially in line and on dead center when the parts are in normal position.

9. In combination with wheels and a wheel truck on which a car is pivotally mounted, a plate mounted on the forward portion of the truck, the said plate being curved on an arc corresponding substantially with the arc described by the portion `of the truck to which it is attached, a tripping device forward of said curved plate comprising a gate or tripping frame hung from the car so as to swing backward upon encountering an obstacle in its path, a rod connected with the said gate so as to move therewith and thereby to cause backward pressure on the said curved plate or permit the same to move forward, said rod terminating in front of and being disconnected from said plate, a fender connected to said plate and means constantly tending to move the lower part of said fender downward and the plate forward, the said arm and rod being substantially in line and on dead center when the parts are in normal position.

10. In combination with wheels and a wheel truck on which a car is pivotally mounted, a plate mounted on the forward portion of the truck the said plate being curved on an arc corresponding substantially with the arc described by the portion of the truck to which it is attached, a tripping device forward of said curved plate comprising a gate or tripping frame hung from the car so as to swing backward upon encountering an obstacle in its path, an arm rigidly connected with the said gate so as to oscillate therewith, a rod loosely connected with the said arm and adapted to be reciprocated by the oscillation thereof and thereby to cause backward pressure on the said curved plate or permit the same to move forward, a fender connected to said plate and means constantly tending to move the lower part of said fender downward and the plate forward, the said arm and rod being substantially in line and on dead center when the parts are in normal position, a second arm connected to said gate and out of line with the first named arm and means connected therewith and extending through the floor of the car body for moving the gate to its normal position.

Witness my hand this 21 day of July 1909, at the city of New York, in the county and State of New York.

JESSE M. YOUNT. lVitnesses E. TW. SCHERR, Jr., ALAN C. MCDONNELL. 

